


Masked

by prosodiical



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Implied Akechi Goro/Kitagawa Yusuke, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 09:39:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12554588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosodiical/pseuds/prosodiical
Summary: Yusuke and Akira take a break in the Metaverse. Akechi's curious, to say the least.





	Masked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvilMuffins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/gifts).



"Well," said Akechi's voice, "isn't this interesting. Hello, Joker. Fox."

Yusuke would have moved, if Akira's hand wasn't set on his hip, his arm around his waist, his expression unchanging as he met Akechi's gaze. "Akira," Yusuke said, voice low, and Akira slid him a glance, the corner of his mouth pulling up, and only then let him go.

"Crow," Akira said evenly, as Yusuke straightened, fixing his shirt and belt. Akira's mask was still pulled up, resting in the mess of his hair, and without it, even in his Metaverse outfit, there was a straight genuineness to his expression that never quite reached the emptiness of Akechi's smile.

His smile, now, made Yusuke think of nothing more than a doll with an expression painted on. Behind the mask, his eyes were flat. "It's good to see you're both all right," Akechi said. "I was worried you'd been caught by Shadows."

"I find that difficult to believe," Yusuke said. "With Joker's skills and my own - you know any fight would be laughably one-sided. Crow."

Akira set a calming hand on Yusuke's arm, and Yusuke's mouth pursed. "I'm sorry, Crow. We're all on-edge."

"Oh, no," Akechi said, "I can't blame you for not trusting me. And you're right, Kitagawa-kun - I sought you out because I was curious. Detective's intuition is a hazard with my curiosity."

His tone was pleasant, but Yusuke wasn't fooled. "Curious," he repeated.

"I admit, I hadn't expected to find you _in flagrante delicto_ ," Akechi said, head tilted; it made the shadows of his mask heavier on his face in these ill-lit corners of the casino. "I would have thought Joker would be more responsible, given our situation."

"You can't blame us for wanting to take a break sometimes," Akira said, equally mild. "But you're right. We should focus."

He pulled his mask down, and Yusuke watched him start back to the safe room, just around the hall. The muffled noise of casino patrons could be heard through the walls even here, and Yusuke thought of framing him: the way Joker left, the deliberate distance he put between him and Crow at the door.

Pulling himself straighter, Yusuke reached for his own mask, but Akechi said, then: "Kitagawa-kun. How long has this been going on?"

Yusuke said, "You've tracked us, haven't you? Ever since Madarame-sensei - "

"Don't be facetious," Akechi said. "You know what I mean."

Yusuke shook his head. "I don't understand why you would care. What Akira-kun and I do in our own time is..." Something that still made his face warm to think of it, particularly the way he'd been utterly blindsided by Akira's first, sweet kiss. _I've been wanting to do this for months_ , Akira had confessed, and Yusuke had admitted, _me, too._ "It's unrelated to you."

"Is that so," Akechi said, and in a slow, deliberate movement, pulled his mask away. There was an odd glint to his eyes, one that made Yusuke think of the plan Akira and Makoto had made, the secrets they'd shared. "Kitagawa-kun - do you mind if I call you Yusuke?"

Yusuke said, "No." He wasn't sure if he meant it.

"It's strange," Akechi said. "I've felt - the oddest bond with Akira since we've met, as though there's something the same about both of us, something intrinsic we happen to share. And yet, you..."

"Crow," Yusuke said.

"You can see me, can't you?" Akechi said, and took a step forward. His sword wasn't in his hand, or his Airsoft gun, but still Yusuke felt his nails dig into his palms, Goemon stir in his heart. "What is it, Yusuke? What do I look like, to you?"

"A puppet," Yusuke said flatly, "worn down by the ills of society like all of us, but you hold your anger close. A pane of opaque glass, with a face painted on."

He pulled his mask down over his face, and crossed the room; Akechi caught the edge of his sleeve there at the door. He still had his mask off, his boyish face strangely vulnerable. "It's a pity," he said, "isn't it? I do think we could have been friends."

"In another world," Yusuke said, and Akechi's mouth curved into Akira's sly smile.

"Yes," he said, "in another life."

He brushed a kiss against the corner of Yusuke's mask and turned away, and Yusuke could hear nothing but his own heartbeat, strange and loud, echoing in his ears.


End file.
